This thesis argues that think tanks nurture public policy debate, which
enhances the overall legitimacy of civil society in non-democratic settings. A focus on think tanks also emphasises the importance of civil society as a non-confrontational forum rather than an antagonist of a non-democratic regime.
Empirically, the thesis draws on the work of think-tanks in the areas of local self-government and budget transparency in Azerbaijan between 2003 and 2014. The case studies are analysed through a matrix of think-tank strategies and activities, which is a development of Kingdon’s Multiple Streams Framework.
The findings show that, although think tanks had a very limited impact on
immediate public policy change, the process they led through interaction and policy education activities in the agenda-setting process, nurtured an
alternative public policy debate. These positive effects of the non-confrontational activities of the civil society in Azerbaijan have important implications for democracy promotion policy and the concept of civil society, in general.
Metadata
Item Type:
Thesis (PhD)
Date of Award:
November 2020
Refereed:
No
Supervisor(s):
Rivetti, Paola, Pleines, Heiko and McMenamin, Iain
Uncontrolled Keywords:
think tanks; civil society; Azerbaijan; democracy; authoritarianism; public policy